Spain Send Latvia To Relegation Round

Spain's Mariona Ortiz recorded a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds

Latvia had an opportunity to jump into the Second Round of the U20 European Championship Women but a shock win against tournament favourites Spain never looked likely and they now face life in the relegation round after a 57-43 loss.

The real damage for Latvia came during their first two games in Group A when they lost narrowly to Lithuania and then only scraped past Belarus having previously held a healthy lead.

A victory against a podium regular such as Spain always felt like asking way too much of the Latvian players, although to their credit, they did post a reasonable effort, especially defensively.

They managed to hold their opponent to relatively paltry 17 points in the second half and just seven during the final quarter.

The only problem for Latvia was that Spain was also on their defensive game and it meant they couldn't truly get within touching distance, especially after being on the wrong end of a 40-25 Spanish lead during the opening half.

Guna Lagzdina did her best for the losing team with 13 points and nine rebounds but Spain had far too much and they advanced as Group winners along with Belarus and Lithuania.